1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector assembly, and more particularly to a connector assembly used in high-speed application.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Certain demanding applications require multi-wire cable assemblies. To avoid undesirably bulky cables when substantial numbers of conductors are required, very fine conductors are used. To limit Electro Magnetic Interference, coaxial wires having grounding means are normally used for the conductors. A dielectric sheath surrounds a central conductor, and electrically separates it from the conductive grounding means. A bundle of such wires is surrounded by a conductive braided shield, and an outer protective sheath.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0115988 A1 discloses a high-speed connector assembly. The connector assembly includes a cable having a plurality of wires, a spacer having upper and lower halves to align front ends of the wires, a plurality of shielding plates assembled to the upper and lower halves of the spacer, and a printed circuit board (PCB) having circuit traces on opposite surfaces thereof. Each wire is located between two neighboring shielding plates, and includes a pair of signal conductors and a grounding conductor which isolates from the signal conductors and forms at right angle to the axis of the signal conductors. The signal conductors of the cable are soldered to corresponding circuit traces of the PCB for signal transmission. The grounding conductor of each wire is electrically connected to the PCB to form the grounding path in such manner that the grounding conductor of each wire is soldered to a corresponding shielding plate which has an engaging arm soldered to a corresponding circuit trace of the PCB.
However, in order to increase production efficiency and facilitate assembly of the connector assembly mentioned above, it is tried by manufacturers to design simpler structure and manufacture the connector assembly at lower cost while achieving more precisely electric connection.
Therefore, an improved connector assembly used in high-speed application is needed.